Kano...your musings.

What do you like or dislike about our fav 'puter guy? The character, the performance, and the way he was utilized.

Underutilized, you mean. I appreciate it was the era, but how very interesting it would have been to see Kano, Morrow, Benes, Aleksandr and but of course, Carter, fleshed out and developed.

Clifton Jones did a fine job in his portrayal. I can see the computer engineer in him as he defends his beloved Computer from the slurs of his comrades.

I think Kano had some interesting traits to him, particularly a recurring pessimistic streak, which surfaced in lines like "destruction of Alpha imminent." There are other instances, as well.

Clifton Jones always gave his all to the performance, and of course, he did have the cool revolving desk!

The funniest scene with Kano has to be as the camera pans across the audience at the guitar recital concert at the start of 'The Troubled Spirit' episode.
There he is, sitting in the front row, looking absolutely bored out of his skull, thinking - "Why oh why did I pay top prices for a front row seat for this drivel."
Makes me chuckle anyway

SPACE 1899 wrote:The funniest scene with Kano has to be as the camera pans across the audience at the guitar recital concert at the start of 'The Troubled Spirit' episode.
There he is, sitting in the front row, looking absolutely bored out of his skull, thinking - "Why oh why did I pay top prices for a front row seat for this drivel."
Makes me chuckle anyway

Yes, and Victor looks like he's asleep!

Commander Koenig wrote:

Yes, and Victor looks like he's asleep!

No, he is, as my American friends phrase it, 'in the zone'.

s99fan wrote:Underutilized, you mean. I appreciate it was the era, but how very interesting it would have been to see Kano, Morrow, Benes, Aleksandr and but of course, Carter, fleshed out and developed.

Clifton Jones did a fine job in his portrayal. I can see the computer engineer in him as he defends his beloved Computer from the slurs of his comrades.

"the era"? How do you mean?

The 1970's series were meant to be watched in any order without the need to know subtitles of character, ergo, no over-arcing storylines, no development of secondary characters.

I think Kano was in love with Computer to the exclusion of nearly everything else!

Gaudior wrote:I think Kano was in love with Computer to the exclusion of nearly everything else!

A fair piece of insight. If the series had continued, and continued on with him, it would have been fascinating to see him develop.

s99fan wrote:

Commander Koenig wrote:

Yes, and Victor looks like he's asleep!

No, he is, as my American friends phrase it, 'in the zone'.

They are not asleep - they are just resting their eyes...zzz...

s99fan wrote:no development of secondary characters.

That's exactly the way that Martin Landau wanted it. Take a listen to the audio file of Nick Tate's interview at the 2005 Space 1999 convention (available on Captain Phils website) and you'll hear it from Nick himself.

s99fan wrote:

Gaudior wrote:I think Kano was in love with Computer to the exclusion of nearly everything else!

A fair piece of insight. If the series had continued, and continued on with him, it would have been fascinating to see him develop.

Agreed - it's a shame that the majority of the time - all he was doing was printing off and reading till receipts.

I think that if I were around Kano for any length of time, I wouldn't be able to resist trying to play some sort of joke on him. He gives the impression of a bookish, retiring guy totally absorbed in his own field, without a sense of humor. Except that, no, I'll bet he does have a sense of humor, a dry one, and he'd let loose with it the moment you started to think you'd pulled something on him....

We all want to know these people better, but often we're better off not getting what we want. One great thing about year one was that priority was given to the themes of each episode, and the overall feel of isolation and alien-ness. There's only so much time available in an hour-long story, after dealing with wonders of an unknown, nearly unknowable universe.

Magnus Greel wrote:
We all want to know these people better, but often we're better off not getting what we want. One great thing about year one was that priority was given to the themes of each episode, and the overall feel of isolation and alien-ness. There's only so much time available in an hour-long story, after dealing with wonders of an unknown, nearly unknowable universe.

Disagree, to a degree. If the series had continued in series one format, I very much feel subtle exploration of character backgrounds would have enhanced the interdynamics and development of the plot. Granted, I would not want Coronation Street level histrionics, but knowing how and why the characters got into the space programme, their fears and aspirations, where ion terra firma they grew up, that would have enhanced the story, not detracted from the main thrust which you so admirably summarize.

s99fan wrote:If the series had continued in series one format, I very much feel subtle exploration of character backgrounds would have enhanced the interdynamics and development of the plot.

And would have increased the viewers understanding and empathy for the characters. For example, the series 'Lost' does that very effectively by flashback sequences showing a characters earlier life.

s99fan wrote:

Disagree, to a degree. If the series had continued in series one format, I very much feel subtle exploration of character backgrounds would have enhanced the interdynamics and development of the plot. Granted, I would not want Coronation Street level histrionics, but knowing how and why the characters got into the space programme, their fears and aspirations, where ion terra firma they grew up, that would have enhanced the story, not detracted from the main thrust which you so admirably summarize.

Thanks... and I agree, as long as it's done economically, as in s1. I wouldn't want much more time devoted to character's individual lives and backgrounds, but a bit more could work. Gradually we'd have found out more about these people just by seeing more episodes with small concentrated character moments.

"Lost" is a very different program, though, being made for a different purpose, and I wouldn't want anything close to that level of character background. Sp:99 is far more about what's out there, and its implications for history and humanity, than it is about the individuals involved. "Lost" is all about characters. Sp:99 has a much different vantage point, and a different scale to it.

Kano's brain implant/computer interface. It would have been interesting to learn more about that program, why he was part of it, and how it "drove" him to Alpha, if that's what happened. Some real potential character development there.

Senmut wrote:Some real potential character development there.

Speaking of character development, can't remember which novel it was, but in one of the Space 1999 novels there is a passage where with the approach of some imminent danger, Kano was clutching some kind of medallion ? and there followed a description of his home life and who gave him the medallion.
Anyone remember which novel this was in ???

Senmut wrote:Kano's brain implant/computer interface. It would have been interesting to learn more about that program, why he was part of it, and how it "drove" him to Alpha, if that's what happened. Some real potential character development there.

It's character development with real science fiction content, so that would be good, I think.

And Space had characters we actually care about.

wwelll

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Wwelll wwhattt?

victor is asleep in that episode the troubled Spirit

Er, no. See the response on page one.